Synopses & Reviews
In this first full-length study of male homosexuality in Cather's short stories and novels, John P. Anders examines patterns of male friendship ranging on a continuum from the social to the sexual. He reveals how Cather's work assumes an unexpected depth and complexity by drawing on both the familiar tradition of friendship literature inspired by classical and Christian texts and a homosexual legacy that is part of, yet distinct from, established literary traditions. Anders argues that Cather's artistic achievement is distinguished by her sexual aesthetics, an elusive literary style inextricably associated with homosexuality. His analysis demonstrates how a homosexual ethos and eros helped Cather develop a sensitivity to human variation and a style to accommodate it and thus became the objective correlative of her art, dramatizing the diversity of human nature as it deepens the mystery of her work.
Review
"Willa Cather's fiction cannot be understood separate from her treatment of erotic reality between human beings of the same sex, a fact of which Anders and other recent Cather critics are fully aware. This outstanding contribution to Cather criticism is exceptionally well written, nothing less than a delight to read. Anders's treatment of My Antonia, The Professor's House, and Death Comes for the Archbishop is acutely analytic, skillfully reflecting—and scrupulously crediting—other Cather critics. . . . The study also convincingly presents Cather in her historical context, with the net impact that this short study is in the end greater than most longer studies of Cather's fiction."—Choice Choice
Synopsis
Moving the focus from the strong female characters that American writer Cather (1873-1947) is best known for, Anders looks at the male friendships she portrays, ranging from the social to the sexual. He argues that she worked in the familiar tradition of friendship literature inspired by classical and Christian texts, and also borrowed from a homosexual legacy that is a distinct subset of established literary traditions.
Synopsis
Willa Cather is primarily known for her creation of strong female characters, yet her fiction often centers on male friendships. In this first full-length study of male homosexuality in Cather's short stories and novels, John P. Anders examines patterns of male friendship ranging on a continuum from the social to the sexual. He argues that Cather worked in the familiar tradition of friendship literature inspired by classical and Christian texts and also borrowed from a homosexual legacy that is part of, yet distinct from, established literary traditions. In combining these two traditions Cather gave her fiction an unexpected depth and complexity.
Anders argues that Cather's artistic achievement is distinguished by her sexual aesthetics, an elusive literary style inextricably associated with homosexuality. A homosexual ethos and eros helped Cather develop a sensitivity to human variation and a style to accommodate it; the range of male friendship and masculine desire in her fiction demonstrates this gift of sympathy and registers its sincerity. Although Cather's wide play of feelings opened her to the imaginative possibilities of human differences, the subject of homosexuality does more than humanize her fiction. It also enabled her to refine her characteristically subtle and elusive style, becoming, in effect, the objective correlative of her art, dramatizing the diversity of human nature as it deepens the mystery of her w
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-174) and index.
About the Author
John P. Anders is an independent scholar who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Table of Contents
"The thing not named" -- Gay literary traditions -- Intimations of homosexuality -- The Greek ideal in One of ours -- Engendered space in The professor's house -- Spiritual friendship in Death comes for the archbishop -- Naming the unnameable.